Tennis Warehouse Playtest: Tourna Premium Poly 17
Hello everyone, here is my review of Tourna Premium Poly 17 string. Thank you to
@TW Staff for this opportunity as always. It is much appreciated. Hope you enjoy my review.
Color Received:
White
Tension(s) used for playtest:
52 lbs full bed. Stringer used was a Gamma Progression II drop weight.
Regular string set up:
I am always trying new strings and equipment setups. My last string setup was Volkl Cyclone 17 strung at 52 lbs.
Racquet used for playtest:
2019 Babolat Pure Aero. I usually put thicker strings in this but wanted to mix up things a bit. In retrospect, should have gone a bit tighter given that it is a 17 guage and a Pure Aero. Oh well.
Control/Power:
Power was ample. Honestly I was expecting it to be lower given how string is being advertised. It felt very similar to Volkl Cyclone 17. I would call it low to medium powered. Decent pop on groundstrokes and volleys as well. First serves had good pop. Second serves had a good mix of spin and pop.
As far as control, to me this definitely felt more like a control-oriented string. I felt there was good point-shoot sort of control. Not a spin monster of a string by any means but if you whipped the ball wanting it to land in, you wouldn't have trouble. Flat shots were accurate as well. Overall a very reliable stringbed response on all types of strokes. My favorite were slice second serves because those were hitting the spots every time I carved up the ball.
Feel (Stiff? Mushy? Muted? Crisp? Comfortable?):
This is a very comfortable string without a doubt. Felt considerably softer than Volkl Cyclone. Good ball dwell time on string bed and I could feel the ball pocket well. No jarring sensations, any kind of buzzing, or weird vibrations. Consistently comfortable throughout the playtest actually.
Spin:
Spin was pretty average and when compared to Cyclone 17, pretty subpar. A bit surprising because string was waxy and felt slick while stringing making me think 'snapback'. That said, in my opinion there is enough spin for bigger and advanced level hitters if you can whip the ball, it will give you spin.
Playability Durability (did it lose playability over time?):
For reference on durability aspect, I am usually not a big string breaker compared to some of the guys I hit with (DII college kids). I am currently at the 8 hour mark of string usage. It has clearly started notching and I can see the dents now. I have also noticed strings not getting back in place and me having to adjust them more and more.
Yes, stringbed did start losing playability about a few hours back. Wasn't a drop off the cliff but more of a gradual slow drop. Stringbed feedback I am getting tells me I will be cutting it out after my next session in a few hours.
Durability (did it notch? - get stuck out of position?):
The string seems durable enough for me. But as I mentioned above, I can see lots of notching and denting and if it was bigger hitters who regularly break strings, this string would not be able to withstand those. Pretty average in that regard I'd say even though it is being marketed as durability string.
Tension findings (would you string it at a different tension on your next try? Why?):
I think 52lbs was a little low tension in my 2019 Pure Aero racquet, and I will recommend bumping up the tension to maybe 55lbs for slightly better control. Since it is a soft feeling string the comfort would not come at the expense of high string tension. I will recommend going tighter than my 52 lbs in similar open pattern 16x19 racquets, just for that optimum balance of comfort and control.
Additional comments (optional):
I was excited to do this playtest as I had been on a tennis break and was excited to get back in the grind. A couple of observations below:
1) Stringing this was a breeze. Soft feel in hand, slightly waxy coating, and low coil memory made it fun to string up. I do a 2 piece (learned a long time back thanks to Andy's tutorial on T-Dubs website) and had zero issues.
2) Good overall budget string, however I did not find it excelling in any one department. Maybe a good cross string if you want to play with hybrids. Not convincing enough for me to make it my go-to string but decent enough overall nevertheless.
Conclusion:
Would like to end my playtest by saying thank you to folk at Tennis Warehouse and Tourna for this opportunity to try this string. Really a fun playtest for me.
